Thill-coupling



(No Model.)

J. T. SOLLENBERGE-R.

THILL OOUPLING. t No. 370,094. w Patented Sept. 20, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. SOLLENBERGER, OF KOKOMO, INDIANA.

THlLL-'COUPLING- SPECIFICATION forming part 01' Letters Patent No. 370.094, dated September 20, 1887.

Serial No. 242,246. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concrn:

Be itknown that I, JOHN T. SOLLENBERGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kokorno, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Iniproved Thill-Coupling, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved means for coupling carriagethills to the carriage.

The object of my improvexnent is to avoid the use of separate connecting-pieees, as bolts or screws, in detachably securing the thills to a carriage and to avoid a loose rattling` of the same, all as hereinafter fully described.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of the couplings. Fig. 2 is aplan of the same. Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the thill-iron.

A is a clip adapted to embrace the axle, and having` on its forward side a projecting upturned hook, O, whose inner surface forms a sernicireular bearing at d, (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1,) and a portion of whose outer surface is eoncentric With its inner surface.

D is the thill-iron, to which the thill (not shown) is secured by bolts or rivets in the usual well-known manner. The lower end of the thill-iron terminates in an eye, e, one side of which is formed by a eylindriealtransverse bar, E, adapted to turn easily in the semicircularbearing d. Forrned upon the under side of the thi11iron, opposite the eye c, is a 1ug,f, whose upper surface, h, is concentric with the bar E, and is arranged to fit the outer surface of hook O when the bar rests in the hook.

F is a steel plate having its outer end forked and turned upward to form a pair of fiat springs, s 8, which engage bar E and hold it in close contact with the hook, and thereby pre- 40 thill-iron and hook are securely interlocked,

so that no possible movelnent of a horse harnessed to the thills in the usual manner can disconneet them.

I elairn as my invention- 1. In athill-coupling, the combination of the clip, adapted to be secured to the axle of a car riage and having a projectingupturned hook whose inner and outer surlaces are coneentric, and the thill iron having an eye adapted to receive the hook, a transverse bar, and a projecting lug` said bar and lug being adapted to engage and turn, respectively,on the inner and outer surfaoes of the hook, all substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a thill-eoupling, the combination,with the clip, the hook projeeting therefrom and having eoncentric inner and outer surfaoes, and the thill-iron having an eye adapted to receive said book, a transverse bar, and a projecting lug, said bar and lug being adapted to engage and turn, respectively, on the inner and outersurfaces of the hook, of the pair of flat Springs arranged to engage the bar and hold it against the hook, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

JOHN T. SOLLENBERGER.

W'itnesses:

WM. F. RUDDELL, R. RUDDELL. 

